While Democrats won all the top offices in the city of Concord, in some cases, by two-to-one margins, some voters offered both humorous and serious alternative choices on their ballots via write-in vote on Nov. 6. Concord voters, not happy with the presidential choices, offered a range of write-ins including a slew of votes for former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, who received the most presidential write-ins citywide. In Ward 1, as an example, six voters, according to information released by the Concord City Clerk’s office, offered write-ins for Ron Paul and Jesse Ventura, the …

Representative-elect Ann McLane Kuster, D-Hopkinton, met with a handful supporters at the Windmill Restaurant on the Concord Heights on Nov. 7, savoring her solid victory on Election Day against U.S. Rep. Charles Bass, for the 2nd Congressional District seat. Kuster greeted childhood friends, supporters, and staffers with hugs and good cheer, saying she was still running on adrenaline from the night before. At one point, the conversation turned to her late mother – Susan McLane – a Republican state Senator in Concord – who supporters noted would be so proud of her triumphant race. McLane …

In a literal grudge rematch from 2010, Democrat Ann McLane Kuster has unseated U.S. Rep. Charles Bass to win the 2nd Congressional District seat. At a little past 11:30 p.m., Bass, accompanied by his wife somberly conceded the race at the Grappone Conference Center. “Annie Kuster has run a very good campaign for a considerable period of time and she has earned the victory that she has had today,” he said. Bass thanked her for her graciousness and ensured her that he would do everything to make sure there was a smooth transition, not unlike he did in 2006 when Paul Hodes won the seat. “I want …

While Republicans are expected to hold onto control of the House and Senate at the Statehouse, Concord voted to return all Democrats, both new faces and old, to Representatives Hall. State Rep. Dick Patten, who also serves on the Concord City Council in Ward 8, easily bested Republican Chris Wood by a two-to-one margin. State Rep. Candace Bouchard easily beat Republican challenger Kevin Moore by slightly less than a two-to-one margin, in Ward 9, where she is also a city councilor. In Ward 10, in East Concord, the area that is considered to be the most conservative part of the city, newcomer …

  President Barack Obama easily won all the wards in the city of Concord on Nov. 6, taking most of them by at least a two-to-one margin against Republican Mitt Romney. With nine of 10 wards reporting, Obama had his best turnout in Ward 5, perceived to be one of the city’s most liberal wards, with 1,703 votes. Romney fared best in Ward 10, the city’s historically most conservative ward, but fell short of winning the ward by about 400 votes. Libertarian Gary Johnson received anywhere from 10 to 32 votes in the city, doing best in Ward 6 and Ward 9, and Constitution Party candidate Virgil Goode …

  UPDATE, 7:04 p.m.  We'll soon be posting results from Ward 5. Ward official Nick Wallner estimated that turnout was around 85 percent - huge! UPDATE, 5:23 p.m. At St. John Church, the Ward 6 voting location, about 1,500 voters had cast 2,900 ballots a little past 4 p.m. or close to a whopping 80 percent turnout.   Across the river, around 4 p.m., in the South End at Ward 7, long lines of voters were seen at the polls. Officials said it had been busy all day, with voters cramping into the West Street Ward House. At that time, nearly 3,800 ballots had been cast so about 1,900 voters, or close…

Over at the Beaver Meadow Golf Course a little before 1 p.m., a guitar player was hanging out outside the polls while his friends were inside voting.  About 1,500 ballots had been cast at that point. Since there are two ballots, actual voters were probably less than 800. Ward 3 has about 1,750 registered voters, so about 46 percent has voted at the almost halfway point of the day. 

One candidate allegedly wants to strip away all of your rights while the other reportedly wants to raise taxes. This candidate voted for this thing while that one voted for that thing. He’s in the tank for special interests. Well she is uncivilized. She likes to eat children while he cooks grandma on the spit. OK, OK, it’s not quite as bad as that last one … but it’s getting close, isn’t it? It seems like each and every election cycle, the voters, the candidates, and even sometimes the press, complain how negative the entire process has become. While it has always been negative in some way, …

THE CANDIDATES President Candidate Profile: Barack Obama Candidate Profile: Gary Johnson Candidate Profile: Mitt Romney Candidate Profile: Virgil Goode NH Governor Candidate Profile: John Babiarz Candidate Profile: Maggie Wood Hassan Candidate Profile: Ovide Lamontagne Second Congressional District Candidate Profile: Charles Bass Candidate Profile: Ann McLane Kuster Candidate Profile: Hardy Macia Executive Council, District 2 Candidate Profile: Colin Van Ostern Candidate Profile: Michael Tierney State Senate Merrimack District 15 (Concord, Hopkinton, Henniker, Warner) Candidate Profile: Lydia…

A last minute attack mailer sent out by the New Hampshire Democratic Party is being called “deceitful, dishonest, and vile” by the popular Concord musician it targeted. Republican state representative candidate Ron Noyes was stunned by a Nov. 5 political mailer that appears to have been sent citywide that he says misrepresents his political positions and borders on libel.  The mailer calls Noyes a “Tea Party politician” who is obsessed with social issues and supports repealing the state’s kindergarten requirement, increasing local property taxes, cutting access to women’s healthcare, and …

Five candidates for state representative running in some of the city’s 19 competitive Statehouse races participated in a business forum at The Office Suite on Nov. 5, co-sponsored by Concord NH Patch. Kathy Rogers, Candace Bouchard, Ron Noyes, Al Jones, and Ken Georgevits all introduced themselves to voters and spoke about issues ranging from higher education funding, right-to-work, taxes, and other issues that representatives may face during the next legislative session. Rogers, an attorney who has also been a Concord City Councilor, county commissioner, state representative, and Merrimack …

U.S. Rep. Charles Bass, R-NH-2, hosted a pasta dinner at the Beaver Meadow Golf Course on Nov. 4, thanking supporters for their help in his re-election campaign while asking everyone to rest up for Election Day.  Bass said he had been hosting the dinners around the state in the waning days of what has become one of the most closely watched Congressional races in the country.  The 2nd Congressional District race is a 2010 re-match between Bass, who won in a squeaker last time, and Democrat Ann McLane Kuster and Libertarian Hardy Macia.  Bass admitted that the race had become particularly nasty…

The wife of Vice President Joe Biden, Dr. Jill Biden, was in New Hampshire last week to make one final push for votes for the Obama-Biden ticket.  At a stop in Concord, Biden rallied Democrats at a phone bank at the campaign office on Green Street, talking about the president's plans for the next four years and what they had done the previous four. She stated that Obama-Biden had done a lot to advance the work of teachers and preserve health care for women. Biden added that Obama ended the war in Iraq, like he promised.  Biden spoke to everyone individually in the office and then sat down to …

During a recent campaign stop in Concord, Ann McLane Kuster, the Democrat running to unseat U.S. Rep. Charles Bass in Congress, talked health care issues with seniors.  McLane talked about why she supported the president's Affordable Care Act for All plan and what she would do, if elected, to promote lowering health care costs on the residents of New Hampshire. 

Major changes are coming to Downtown Concord tomorrow morning in preparation for the Sunday morning rally featuring President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton. The Concord Police Department earlier today released information about the street closures in and around the area of the Statehouse.  Long story short – drivers should avoid the area between Centre Street and Pleasant Street between Main Street and Spring Street from 3 a.m. and noon on Sunday, Nov. 4, and prepare for changes beginning at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 3. According to Lt. Timothy O’Malley, the commander of the …

Three Republican candidates for major offices in New Hampshire held a press conference on Oct. 31, stating they would be voting Yes on Question 1, the anti-state income tax constitutional amendment while challenging members of the press to question their Democratic opponent's positions on the matter. U.S. Rep. Charles Bass, U.S. Frank Guinta, and gubernatorial candidate Ovide Lamontagne, all backed the proposal but said - in varying ways - that while their opponents say they don’t support an income tax, their commitment to not voting for Question 1, called their positions into question. Bass…

Despite gathering nearly 20,000 signatures from registered voters in New Hampshire to gain ballot access for its candidates, the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire’s gubernatorial and congressional candidates will not be included in the last debates of the 2012 campaign, co-sponsored by WMUR-TV and the New Hampshire Union Leader newspaper. The exact reason why varies, depending on who you talk to. The candidates said they were not included in previous debates because they had not met the historical standard of 3 percent in political polls. The news director of WMUR-TV said the candidates didn…

Wondering what the next date and time of the debates are? Wondering what time the debates are on? Here are the details:  NH Governor Nov. 1, 7 p.m., WMUR Granite State Debate.  2nd Congressional District 7 p.m. on Oct. 30, at the NH Institute of Politics at St. Anselm College, 100 Saint Aselm Drive, in Manchester. This debate will also air on WMUR-TV.  Concord State Representative/State Senate 11:45 a.m. on Nov. 5, at The Office Suite on Loudon Road. Concord NH Patch is holding a forum on business issues. Every candidate running for a state Representative or state Senate has been invited to …

Religious and political leaders joined about 150 people at the Statehouse for the third Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally in Concord on Oct. 20, protesting the federal Health and Human Services mandate attached to the Affordable Care Act for All legislation, also known as ObamaCare. The rally – organized by Cornerstone Action Chairwoman Shannon McGinley – featured speeches by House Speaker William O’Brien, R-Mont Vernon, former Boston Red Sox great Rico Petrocelli, and others, criticizing the program as an affront to their personal liberty and religious freedom. Many criticized the lack of…

Republican gubernatorial candidate Ovide Lamontagne received the endorsement of all county sheriffs in New Hampshire. On Oct. 18, nine of the 10 sheriffs got together for a short press avail at the New Hampshire Police Standards and Training Council to show their support for Lamontagne and explain why they were endorsing him. Belknap County Sheriff Craig Wiggin, the president of the New Hampshire Sheriff's Association, said Lamontagne “came to us early in his campaign” adding that he wanted to continue to make New Hampshire “the safest state in the nation.” He said that the most important …